A Pakistani court has upheld the death penalty against Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, accused of blasphemy. She is the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

Asia Bibi

Pakistani nationals have killed at least 60 people following blasphemy allegations since 1990. There have been over 327 blasphemy cases filed in Pakistan, after amendments were made to the blasphemy law in the 1970’s and 80’s (see chart below).

Prior to this there were only 7 cases filed between 1851-1947. Currently here are at least 17 people convicted of blasphemy on death row, and an additional 19 serving life sentences. Accusations of blasphemy are filed against both Muslim and non-Muslims, and while the rate of against non-Muslims is higher when measured against the religious minorities representation in Pakistan, more overall accusations are made against Muslims.

Jan Wetzel from Amnesty International notes "While purporting to protect Islam and the religious sensitivities of the Muslim majority, Pakistan's blasphemy laws have in fact fostered a climate of religiously motivated violence, and are used indiscriminately against both Muslims and non-Muslims." Further, "They violate the basic human rights of freedom of religion and thought. These laws are often used to make unfounded malicious accusations to settle personal scores in land and business disputes [and] are also arbitrarily enforced by the police and judiciary."

A Pakistani court has upheld the death penalty against Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, accused of blasphemy. She is the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Two Muslim women brought the allegation against Bibi after they objected to her sharing water with them, because she was a different faith. The charges were brought against her in 2010. Two prominent politicians, the governor of Punjab Salman Taseer, a Muslim, and the Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a catholic, were killed after supporting Bibi in 2011. The governor was killed by his own bodyguard; who was then showered with rose petals by supporters at his murder trial.

In Pakistan, a blasphemy conviction carries a maximum penalty of death, and yet has an almost non-existent standard of proof. There is no punishment for false allegations of blasphemy, and an accuser may even refuse to tell the court exactly what the blasphemous comment was, so as not to blaspheme themselves. It is enough simply to accuse someone of blasphemy for them to either receive punishment through the judicial system, however more often punishment is meted out by members of the public. Pakistan’s anti blasphemy law also does not account for the accused’s mental state. For instance, currently British citizen, Mohammed Asghar, a paranoid schizophrenic, is awaiting a death sentence in Pakistan. Asghar’s tenant accused him of blasphemy after they had a disagreement.

Confounding any attempt to mediate the affect of the law, are incidents such as the recent killing of Rashid Rehman, a dedicated human rights attorney. Rehman was killed after taking on the case of Junaid Hafeez, a university professor accused of blasphemy by a group of students in 2013. Attorneys in Pakistan have expressed frustration with how Pakistan’s legal system is responding once a blasphemy case gains traction in the public sphere. An attorney for Asghar notes, "There are two kinds of judges in this blasphemy field. [There are] those who genuinely have their hands tied behind their backs, because there is a threat to their lives. But there's a fair amount of lawyers, prosecutors and judges who are making a name for themselves by … sentencing blasphemy convicts."

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf arrived in Karachi yesterday - where he faces Taliban death threats - saying he has "come to save Pakistan." A recent Pew Research study finds that Pakistan has the highest level of social hostilities involving religion of any country as well as high government restrictions on religion.

For instance, in Pakistan, the GOVERNMENT makes blasphemy - remarks or actions considered to be critical of God - punishable by imprisonment or death. On the SOCIAL side, assassins killed two prominent Pakistani politicians – Shahbaz Bhatti (the only Catholic Minister in the government) and Salman Taseer (the governor of Punjab and a Muslim) – when they spoke out against the blasphemy law.

Indeed, Muslims are often prosecuted under Pakistan's blasphemy laws. For instance, Pakistani police are investigating Sherry Rehman, the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, on blasphemy charges.If convicted, she could be sentenced to death.

Also, in a highly publicized case last summer, a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was arrested and detained for several weeks after she was accused of burning pages from the Quran. The girl was released after an imam at a local mosque was accused of planting evidence against her. But the terms included bail set at $10,500 -- an exorbitant sum in a country where the average annual income is less than $1000.

And on March 18, the New York Times reported that mobs burned down a Pakistani Christian village near Lahore, also related to allegations of blasphemy. Lahore is also the site of a 2010 massacre of Pakistani Ahmadiyyas, who are considered apostates by Pakistani law.

On March 31, 2013, Prosecutors in Egypt are questioning the popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef over allegations of insulting Islam and President Mohammed Morsi, according to the BBC.

And according to Advocated International, on April 2, 2013, Pakistani Christian Martha Bibi reportedly will face a judge on blasphemy charges, which may carry the death sentence.

These are part of a string of incidents in 2012 that have drawn international attention to laws and policies prohibiting blasphemy (remarks or actions considered to be contemptuous of God or the divine) and apostasy (abandoning one’s faith). Taken together, 43 countries (22%) have such laws, according to a 2012 report by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion Public Life.

Some incidents from 2012:- In a highly publicized case last summer, Rimsha Masiha, a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan, was arrested and detained for several weeks after she was accused of burning pages from the Quran. In December, a Pakistani crowd killed a man and then burned his body, apparently for desecrating the Quran.

- In Greece, a man was arrested and charged with blasphemy after he posted satirical references to an Orthodox Christian monk on Facebook.- Amnesty International reported that in December a court in Saudi Arabia proceeded with the prosecution of Raif Badawi for apostasy, a charge which carries the death penalty. Badawi – who founded “Saudi Arabian Liberals”, a website for political and social debate – has been in detention since June 2012. (This broadened application of apostasy laws is discussed by the late Indonesian President Wahid** in a foreword to Silenced, by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea, Oxford University Press, 2011.)

- However, the Netherlands - one of eight European countries that had a law against blasphemy in 2012 - took steps to repeal its law. The other seven European countries currently with blasphemy laws named by the Pew study are Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta and Poland. The United Kingdom abolished its blasphemy law in 2008.

A new analysis* by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life points out that several recent incidents have drawn international attention to laws and policies prohibiting blasphemy – remarks or actions considered to be contemptuous of God or the divine. In a highly publicized case last summer, for example, a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was arrested and detained for several weeks after she was accused of burning pages from the Quran. In neighboring India, a man reputed to be a religious skeptic is facing blasphemy charges because he claimed a statue of Jesus venerated by Mumbai’s Catholic community for its miraculous qualities is a fake. The man reportedly is staying in Europe to avoid prosecution. In Greece, a man was arrested and charged with blasphemy after he posted satirical references to an Orthodox Christian monk on Facebook.

Pakistan, India and Greece are not alone in actively pursuing blasphemy prosecutions. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that as of 2011 nearly half of the countries and territories in the world (47%) have laws or policies that penalize blasphemy, apostasy (abandoning one’s faith) or defamation (disparagement or criticism of particular religions or religion in general). Of the 198 countries studied, 32 (16%) have anti-blasphemy laws, 20 (10%) have laws penalizing apostasy and 87 (44%) have laws against the defamation of religion, including hate speech against members of religious groups.

* This analysis was written by Brian J. Grim, Senior Researcher and Director of Cross-National Data, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Research assistance was provided by Angelina Theodorou, Research Assistant, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Restrictions on religious beliefs and practices occur in a variety of circumstances, a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that they are particularly common in countries that prohibit blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion. While such laws are sometimes promoted as a way to protect religion and reduce social hostilities involving religion, in practice they often serve to punish religious minorities whose beliefs are deemed unorthodox or heretical, and who therefore are seen as threatening religious harmony in the country.

As of mid-2009, 59 countries (30%) had a law, rule or policy at some level of government forbidding blasphemy (remarks or writings considered to be contemptuous of God), apostasy (abandoning one’s faith) or defamation* (disparagement or criticism) of particular religions or religion in general. Penalties for violating these laws, ranging from fines to imprisonment to death, were enforced in 44 of the 59 countries. Globally, countries that have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion were more likely to have high government restrictions or social hostilities than countries that do not have such laws. A solid majority (59%) of countries that enforce such laws had high or very high restrictions on religion (government or social) as of mid-2009. Among countries that do not have such laws, by contrast, 58% had low restrictions or hostilities.

* Only includes disparagement or criticism of religion, but not religious hate speech directed at individuals or groups.

Not only do government restrictions and social hostilities involving religion tend to be higher in countries enforcing laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion, but restrictions tend to be on the rise in many of these countries.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, from mid-2006 to mid-2009, restrictions or hostilities increased substantially in 10 (23%) of the 44 countries where governments actively enforce penalties for blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion; restrictions or hostilities decreased substantially in just one country in that category (2%). In the 15 countries where such laws are on the books but are not actively enforced, restrictions or hostilities increased substantially in four (27%) and decreased substantially in just one (7%). By contrast, among the 139 countries that do not have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion, restrictions or hostilities rose in nine (6%) and fell in 10 (7%). (See graphic.)

These findings do not mean that laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion necessarily cause higher restrictions on religion. But they do suggest that the two phenomena often go hand-in-hand: governments that impose laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion also tend to have higher restrictions on religion.